Firework Fun, Valencia

Valencia is a city of festivals and we arrived in the midst of one. We have arrived for the festival of Desamparados, in English is Our Lady of the Forsaken. And it actually falls on our Mother’s Day which is a bit ironic if you ask me. On the 2nd Sunday of May the commemoration of Valencia's second patron saint, the Virgen de los Desamparados, begins the evening before with a concert in the Plaza de la Virgen featuring the Valencia Municipal Band, traditional folk music and dance, and - in true Valencia fashion - a fireworks display.

The actual day of the festival opens at 5:00am with an open-air mass called La Misa Descuberta. At 10:30am, the sculpted image of the saint is carried from her church by her followers across the Plaza de la Virgen and into the Cathedral in a tradition known as "El Traslado" (the Transfer). Later on, after a "Mascletà" (a round of firecrackers that lasts for over five minutes), a full-out procession passes through the city in which the virgin is brought out into the old town and greeted by hoards of faithful followers and showers of flower petals.

While we missed the festivities from the night before (we did hear the firecrackers), we happened to be at the plaza when the firecrackers started. With prime location we were ready - or so we thought. Nothing could have prepared us for the actual fireworks. It sounded like we were under attack from heavy gun fire.

The fireworks here aren’t for the pretty sparkles but for the noise and they certainly created an interesting mix of sounds. There were a few flashes of colour before the smoke just covered everything. Add the falling debris from the fireworks hitting the ground in front of us and covering us it was quite the experience, a very unique experience for sure.Read more